Dele Alli showed his maturity in Tottenham's victory against Sunderland

When Tottenham Hotspur signed Dele Alli from MK Dons last season, the teenager was already well known as a goal-scorer and creator, but what his new club’s fans are now starting to see is that the 19-year-old is also a very mature player at the heart of their side.

Prior to the weekend, Alli had come off the bench three times for Mauricio Pochettino’s team this season, but on Sunday he started the match away to Sunderland, and he impressed despite what was a pretty dour performance all round.

Alli did his best to raise the tempo and the quality and on this evidence he will start many more games for Tottenham this season despite his age.

Passing Accuracy

Key Passes

Dispossessed

Duels Won

Dribbles

Tackles Won

Ball Recoveries

Mins Played

Dele Alli

79%

1

1

9

4

2

6

67

He played one key pass to set up a scoring chance for a teammate and he went on four dribbles as he looked to inject some pace into the play.

But alongside his more attacking intent, Alli demonstrated a maturity that speaks volumes for his character and his future in the game.

Dispossessed just once during his 67 minutes on the pitch, Alli also won an impressive nine duels, two tackles and six ball recoveries.

In short, he is a fighter as well as a creator and while some Tottenham fans may feel this is jumping the gun, if he carries on at this rate he could be a future captain of the club.

Vincent Ralph

After graduating with a degree in English Literature, Vincent completed a NCTJ-accredited qualification in newspaper and magazine journalism in 2005. He has worked for HITC for four years and is now Head of Editorial and Journalist Standards.